Militarization of NFL football

Very disturbing that coaches are dressing in military garb his year which makes as much sense as the coaches putting on Tutus because somebody wanted to brand football with a military society. Belichick did not wear them and all these people started to insinuate he was anti military. His father was military. No, this branding of sport with the military is an element required for fascism. We simply need to quietly over the next decade cut military spending and comply with our founding fathers clear warnings about standing armies.

Quit being a whiny scaredy-cat who sees "fascism" in everything.... The "garb" was simply part of the NFL Salute to Service program. And it's temporary so don't go running for your bunker just yet. Believe it or not some folks appreciate military service, you on the other hand only appreciate your ability to whine about it. You can be quite tiresome.

bullchit. It is part of a very public military policy. There should be no connection with the military in any sports. It is the polar opposite of fair competition. It is murder. Using the propaganda method called "association" every wimp who enlists now is part of the team........If we were not killing innocents all over the world......maybe I could see them as you do as disposables.......sorry ........the US military has done some evil things in the last thirty years when there have been ZERO threats to our nation from another nation state. Eight trillion flushed down the toilet.

2seaoat wrote:bullchit. It is part of a very public military policy. There should be no connection with the military in any sports. It is the polar opposite of fair competition. It is murder. Using the propaganda method called "association" every wimp who enlists now is part of the team........If we were not killing innocents all over the world......maybe I could see them as you do as disposables.......sorry ........the US military has done some evil things in the last thirty years when there have been ZERO threats to our nation from another nation state. Eight trillion flushed down the toilet.

I'm almost getting tired of proving you wrong Old Goat but the program is an NFL sponsored CHARITABLE effort. Read this and weep in shame:

https://operations.nfl.com/updates/the-game/nfls-salute-to-service/

BTW - since I've forgotten MORE about the Military than you will ever know - the Military doesn't make decisions about where they are sent or what to do when they get there. Grow up or shut up.

The military's budget for advertising -- on TV, radio, print, web, mail campaigns, pamphlets, and movie theaters-- was projected to be $667 million dollars this year, according to the Operation and Maintenance Overview prepared by the Office of the Defense Comptroller in February 2011.

The NFL and the military are like two peas in a pod in a number of ways. From the “battle” themes to the uniforms, professional football is rife with militaristic themes. Like Roman gladiators, when NFL players take the field we get to see them duke it out in the heat of competition. They go to battle, and a victor is crowned after using plenty of strategic planning and brute force.

And the players and team owners are rewarded handsomely, of course — much more so than your average soldier. But that’s a different story.

Controversies involving the national anthem and player protests are dominating the conversation when it comes to the NFL. While the national anthem protest started with Colin Kaepernick’s attempt to bring attention to police violence and racial issues, President Donald Trump has hijacked it and made it about something else entirely. In his eyes, taking a knee during the anthem is a slap in the face to the military, veterans, and the country at large.

Although it’ll be some time before all of that gets sorted out, we can look back at another curious way in which the NFL and military have interwoven themselves. If you remember a couple of years ago, it was revealed that the Department of Defense was paying the NFL for patriotic displays at the taxpayers’ expense. This was surprising to many people who figured the NFL was probably more than happy to eat the costs to honor veterans, find tickets for soldiers, and host flyovers before games.

As it turns out, the league was not eating those costs. It was more of a marketing stunt than anything else. Given the controversy surrounding the troops, the national anthem, and the NFL, it’s a good time to look back at the revelations concerning the Department of Defense and the NFL — and dig into how much money was involved.

If you missed the whole controversy the first time around, you might be surprised at just how much of your tax dollars were spent on marketing for the military. As a teaser, the total was more than $5 million in just a three-year span. Here’s how the numbers break down between the NFL and the military.

The NFL and the military are like two peas in a pod in a number of ways. From the “battle” themes to the uniforms, professional football is rife with militaristic themes. Like Roman gladiators, when NFL players take the field we get to see them duke it out in the heat of competition. They go to battle, and a victor is crowned after using plenty of strategic planning and brute force.

And the players and team owners are rewarded handsomely, of course — much more so than your average soldier. But that’s a different story.

Controversies involving the national anthem and player protests are dominating the conversation when it comes to the NFL. While the national anthem protest started with Colin Kaepernick’s attempt to bring attention to police violence and racial issues, President Donald Trump has hijacked it and made it about something else entirely. In his eyes, taking a knee during the anthem is a slap in the face to the military, veterans, and the country at large.

Although it’ll be some time before all of that gets sorted out, we can look back at another curious way in which the NFL and military have interwoven themselves. If you remember a couple of years ago, it was revealed that the Department of Defense was paying the NFL for patriotic displays at the taxpayers’ expense. This was surprising to many people who figured the NFL was probably more than happy to eat the costs to honor veterans, find tickets for soldiers, and host flyovers before games.

As it turns out, the league was not eating those costs. It was more of a marketing stunt than anything else. Given the controversy surrounding the troops, the national anthem, and the NFL, it’s a good time to look back at the revelations concerning the Department of Defense and the NFL — and dig into how much money was involved.

If you missed the whole controversy the first time around, you might be surprised at just how much of your tax dollars were spent on marketing for the military. As a teaser, the total was more than $5 million in just a three-year span. Here’s how the numbers break down between the NFL and the military.https://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/amount-money-military-gives-nfl.html/

All the wally cox types who go into the military to prove how tough they are and get a pay check. There is little defense involved in defense spending. We should get back to real names......the dept. of war. War is awful. It kills innocents. We have had no threat to this nation in almost seventy five years, yet we have killed millions of civilians around the world under the guise that we are the good guys. We are not. These kids should be finding work in the private sector when we have unemployment below five percent. I get making work when we are in a recession, but there is NO reason not to make drastic cuts right now and get unproductive people out of the military where they are sucking on the government teat, and become productive members of society contributing to GPD growth and making America strong. The military welfare program has to come to an end. MIC makes billions and innocents die.

Thanks to this thread I now know why the Saints coaches were dressing so strangely. I had no idea, just wanted to watch the Saints win.

I must admit I love watching the game and will shout "Who Dat!" from time to time but another feature of the NFL is the tax break or being excused from having to pay taxes (?) or the organization not being plagued with anti-trust laws (?) Can't remember exactly what the catch is but they have a sweet setup that goes beyond tax payers building stadiums for them.

othershoe1030 wrote:Thanks to this thread I now know why the Saints coaches were dressing so strangely. I had no idea, just wanted to watch the Saints win.

I must admit I love watching the game and will shout "Who Dat!" from time to time but another feature of the NFL is the tax break or being excused from having to pay taxes (?) or the organization not being plagued with anti-trust laws (?) Can't remember exactly what the catch is but they have a sweet setup that goes beyond tax payers building stadiums for them.

I wonder if the attitude toward the NFL will change much when long time Trumpenis cohort Vince (WWE) McMahon starts up his new league in 2020.

Watching the military propaganda movie......the green berets....I remember I was in eighth grade and bought into this garbage of the Americans saving the day with John Wayne......after watching this I am sad I did not spend my entire life fighting militarization in America. My eighth grade shop teacher was reserve and I remember him coming into our history class and talking about the Vietnamese like they were not humans. They could live off a cup of rice and all they want to do is kill Americans. By the time I was a senior in high school I realized I had been lied to by America. Viet Nam was murder, colonialism, racism, and the beginning of around the clock military......and a huge sucking sound of military welfare.....all because of propaganda.......

2seaoat wrote:Watching the military propaganda movie......the green berets....I remember I was in eighth grade and bought into this garbage of the Americans saving the day with John Wayne......after watching this I am sad I did not spend my entire life fighting militarization in America. My eighth grade shop teacher was reserve and I remember him coming into our history class and talking about the Vietnamese like they were not humans. They could live off a cup of rice and all they want to do is kill Americans. By the time I was a senior in high school I realized I had been lied to by America. Viet Nam was murder, colonialism, racism, and the beginning of around the clock military......and a huge sucking sound of military welfare.....all because of propaganda.......

With the exception of WW II I'd say our involvement in wars or military action was largely if not completely fueled by propaganda. This is the case in a democracy where public opinion needs to be gathered behind the cause. Without it the war fails.

It has always saddened me that the technical skills and production resources available to defense contractors is not turned toward research in renewable energy and up-grades to modern rail transportation, water treatment and other things that improve quality of life rather than to destroy.

Transitioning to more positive technologies could be eased in over time and would vastly benefit the corporations that chose the new way. Even if it still remained a form of corporate welfare at least the money would be going toward something that would benefit humanity rather than destroy it.

300,000 low IQ enlistees who never should have been enlisted because of moron level IQs. It is no wonder the homeless vet issue with Viet Nam vets is such a problem. This continues despite the fantasy of some forum members that this mercenary army picks the best and brightest.......this was simple raw meat for MIC to turn America into a war machine. Some truths stay universal if describing the foot soldier in Napoleonic wars or an Iraq volunteer.

2seaoat wrote:300,000 low IQ enlistees who never should have been enlisted because of moron level IQs. It is no wonder the homeless vet issue with Viet Nam vets is such a problem. This continues despite the fantasy of some forum members that this mercenary army picks the best and brightest.......this was simple raw meat for MIC to turn America into a war machine. Some truths stay universal if describing the foot soldier in Napoleonic wars or an Iraq volunteer.

If you want to see how wrong you are (again) you will read the linked article. But you won't because you are an unrepentant bigot who will forever feel left out because you wouldn't even qualify to wear a Girl Scout uniform.